The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-14
THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL MONDAY,
Second Presbyterian Church last evening. A
his text he read the following quotations:


Second Presbyterian Church last evening. AS
his text he read the following quotations:
.aThou shalt not kill Exodus, * 13.
s'Ye have heard that it said by them of old
times Thou shalt not kill; and whatsoever shall kill
shall be in danger of the judgements but / say unto
you that whatsoever angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger of the judgement" Matt,
whatsoever hateth his brother is murderer. and
ye know that murderer hath external life abiding
in him. John, iii, To-
'It viii be seen," said DIR. Mcleod. from the
inspired commentary we have of the
meaning does not lie upon its
surface The words of the Psalmist, Thy COM
mandment is exceeding broad may, with great
propriety, be applied to this commandment. It
is very broad, and it is also very deep. On its
surface it seems to deal only with conduct; but
in the light which the New Testament throws
upon it, we can see that it has much to do with
character Its letter forbids murderous action,
its spirit forbids murderous intention. In the
eyes OF men he, only, who maliciously kills
another is murderer; but in the sight OF God,
whatsoever hateth his brother is murderer.
Hence it may be truly said that this
law is spiritual. AS it stands in the
Old Testament, it forbids the murder that
springs from anger. but as 1t stands in the New
Testament, it forbids the anger that leads to
murder And Justly so, because unholv anger,
or malice, or hatred has in it the essence of MUIR
der. Shylock knew this and he felt it keenly
when, to the question of Bassanio: DO all men
kill the things they do not loveg he replied:
Hates any man the thing he would not kil2'
Society has been now and then troubled by
few narrow, but kindly-disposed persons, who
ignoring the spirit of this commandment, but
clinging with slavish attachment to its
letter, have altogether missed its meaning They
tell us that it forbids homicide in any
| and in all circumstances No man, they say, is
| justified in taking the life OF another, even
though it be in self-defense, for does not the
commandment say: Thou shalt not killP On the
| though the war be waged in self defense Rather
/ let the murderer do his bloody work than save
your own life or the life of your. family by kill
ing tho murderer. Rather let the Nation perish
| than repel and crush to death the invader Such
| is their doctrine. Thou shalt not kiil-these
four words taken literally arc, with them, the end
| of controversy. Even capital punishment, though
! inflicted in strict accordance with Law, is, in
! their eyes, breach Of the Sixth Commandment.
The officer of justice who executes the law is, in
| their eyes, as guilty of murder as the murderer
| he executes. To such strange conclusions do
! some minds come Such persons are controlled
| by sentiment rather than by reason. They will
be found, from time to time, circulating petitions
| for the pardon Of brutal murderers. They will
send their nosegays to the prison, not for the
least lawless, but for the most lawless ana when
the day of execution comes they would, if they
| could, scatter theif flowers along the murderers
pathway FROM the cell to the scaffod. This is
not Christianity. It is sentiment. Il is nnrea-
| son. 1t is gush. The of Miss Van Zandt
| who has made herself SO conspicuous in connec-
ton with the murderous Anarchist Spies, now
| under sentence of death, illustrates this point
| Her silly sentimentalism in consenting to marry
the murderer, even by proxy. is a great disgrace;
but in the Judgment of charity it is to be hoped
that her mind is unbalanced
| 1.-The sixth commandment does not forbid the
killing of another in elfdefense. 1t only for
bids the taking away of our own life the life
| OF our sneighbor unjustly 1t requires
all lawful endeavors to preserve our
own life. And if cannot preserve
.r,xr l..
ant, am justified in killing him. If nation
cannot protect itself and defend its existence
without going to war, then it is justified in going
to war The sixth commandment does not for
bid, either to indivual to nation, the
right Of self preservation. 1t does not forbid
the killing of murderer when it is done in self
defense or in the interests of justice, any more
than it forbids the killing of rattlesnake, or a
tiger, or byena Whose sheddeth mans blood
by man shall his blood oe shed; for in the image
of God made He man. 1t is the unlawful tax
ing away of human life that the sixth command
ment forbids. 1t also forbids self-murdeI
Thou shalt not kill myself is GODS com.
4 E1azd, 40 less than the command: Thou
shalt not kill thy neighbour And yet occasions
may arise when to expose oneself to death is no
violation OF this law. John Howard did this,
but, nevertheless, We call him Christian hero
and philanthropist. Many father, many q
} patriot, many martyr and confessoi
have fallen in defense of their homes. oil
their country and of their religion. because
they loved them more dearly than they
loved their life. Well has it been said thai
rather than betray the cause of truth and right
rather than desert the principles of justice and
} honor, and prove recreant to duty and to faith
: a man may we'll die. In defense of the innocen,
and helpless in defense Of the right; in defense
of his family and his country; in defense of his
religious belief he may WE'LL il need be- lay down
! his life As martyr, as patriot, as lover o.
. truth and justice, there may be occasion to die
e. &c -, s~h~ I,,fv por
treasure of man. Very true And to speal
thus is but to re-echo the memorable
J words Of Edmund Burke. when he said
Y The blood of man. should never b.
shed but to redeem the blood of man. l
is we'll shed for our family. for our friends, TO
: our country and for our God: the rest Is vanity
S the rest is crime
: .sBut we are rot go much interested in wha
t does not constitute violation Of this command
d ment in what does constitute viola
f ton of it. AS interpreted by our Lord and |
o the light of the language used by St john ar
Q we not warranted in saying that there are nun
Q derers and murderersa That in certain quar-
t tiers human life has been regarded as but Of lii
S tie account, is of the most painful fact
d of history. From the time OF Cal
d until to-day murderers of one kind or al
h other have been running loose upon tn
: earth While it is true that some wars may b
o justified, it is less true that for some war
: there is not the least shadow Of defense The
n we're conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity
v They were unholy both in their inception an
n in their execution. Even when armies wer
d mustered in the name of the Lord of Hosts An
&c when the waved their banners. an
20 when they called their war a holy war, we kno
IT that they were impelledl by fanaticsm and j,
I'd justice rather than by reason and justice. CRU
lie tyrants, inflamed by mad ambition, have ma
ID shaded their hosts and have led them forth
1t slaughter and to be slaughtered. Great nation
70 have gone to for idea. Nor is tn
accursed realistic spirit yet dead. We can eve
le hear its echo to-day, as from the parliaments
| Errn fhnwn wtr in nryn
h sounds Of threatening God grant tn
ID this great evil may be averted. Alas! alas fro